North County: new chefs, décor, menus

Six restaurants serve up something fresh for Valentine's Day

Some of the new tapas at Twenty/20 Grill and Wine Bar in Carlsbad, clockwise from top, charred octopus with seasonal vegetables, shrimp a la plancha with chili and lemon and bacon-wrapped dates with Cabrales blue cheese and piquillo pepper tomato sauce. CREDIT: Twenty/20

Some of the new tapas at Twenty/20 Grill and Wine Bar in Carlsbad, clockwise from top, charred octopus with seasonal vegetables, shrimp a la plancha with chili and lemon and bacon-wrapped dates with Cabrales blue cheese and piquillo pepper tomato sauce. CREDIT: Twenty/20

Twenty/20 Grill & Wine Bar

Twenty/20 Grill and Wine Bar at the Sheraton Carlsbad has been remodeled this winter, with new interior booths, an expanded patio with heated roof and fire pits, and a San Sebastian-inspired menu. CREDIT: Twenty/20

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Twenty/20 Grill and Wine Bar at the Sheraton Carlsbad has been remodeled this winter, with new interior booths, an expanded patio with heated roof and fire pits, and a San Sebastian-inspired menu. CREDIT: Twenty/20

Sheraton Carlsbad has remodeled its dining room with new booths, installed a mahogany-lined roof over its heated patio and given its menu a San Sebastián twist. Chef Robert Carr’s month-old menu reflects the Spanish region’s focus on local produce and seafood, grilling and light sauces with a spicy pop. Check out the Basque Eggs, Bacon-Wrapped Dates, Lamb Meatballs, Charred Octopus, Shrimp a la Plancha or Crispy Salmon with Valencia paella with a house-made sangria or something from the 100-wine list. On April 4, a new tapas menu will launch, with live music and San Sebastian-style small plates Thursday nights through September. And from 5:30-8:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of each month, check out Street Fare. Diners can visit food stations on the veranda serving up small plates from a different region of the world (or the U.S.) each month. Cost is $25 for six tasting tickets.

Bellamy’s Restaurant

Tango on Grand was sold and renamed Bellamy’s last fall. New owner Brian Bonar recruited French Master Chef Patrick Ponsaty from Loews Coronado Resort to revamp the menu and serve as corporate chef for the family’s Escondido wedding spot, The Ranch at Bandy Canyon. Since Jan. 7, Ponsaty has worked with Bellamy’s chef Mike Reidy on a French-inspired menu. Manager Trevor Da Costa recommends Ponsaty’s Lacquered Sea Bass, Squid Ink Risotto, Veal Cheeks and Monkfish, as well as new desserts Cherry Vanilla Custard and Saffron Panna Cotta. Five-course “His” and “Hers” menus ($75 each) are being served tonight for Valentine’s Day.

Paon Restaurant & Wine Bar

The 4-year-old Carlsbad Village restaurant has quietly risen to the top of diners’ “best of” lists, thanks to chef David Gallardo’s high-end French/California cuisine. Co-owner Mayur Pavagadhi says sales are soaring and his recession-proof diners don’t flinch at paying $80 for a caviar appetizer, $43 for New Zealand Cervina venison or $42 for dry-aged Angus filet mignon. Thanks to its wine shop next door, Paon has an 850-label wine list with 150 new wines tested each month. For winter, there’s an expanded lobster menu and some new dishes using gourmet cheeses. Pavagadhi and partner Steve Barr also have something else brewing a block away. They've shut down their casual seafood eatery Catch Carlsbad and it will soon reopen as 38 Degrees, a gastropub with local beers on tap, burgers and more.

The Inn at Rancho Santa Fe

The 90-year-old inn’s restaurant is open during a $12 million revamp (finishing in July), and new executive chef Todd Allison (formerly of the now-shuttered Anthology supper club in Little Italy) has been making over the menu with his “upscale casual” take on classics. Some of his favorite dishes are a stacked arugula salad, prawn risotto, pan-roasted rockfish with chorizo and local shellfish in a saffron broth, New York strip steak topped with melt-in-your-mouth braised short ribs, barbecued ocean trout and a top-selling house-made mac ’n’ cheese. Allison said the restaurant's dining rooms will be refreshed, a private dining room is being added and the seating areas will be adjusted for better traffic flow. He's experimenting this spring with new appetizers and dishes to get a firm feel for Rancho Santa Fe's eclectic dining crowd -- a mix of affluent locals who eat out a lot, tourists staying at local hotels, and more budget-conscious coastal residents who drive in for a casual meal (often with kids in tow). That's why the diverse menu has $8 glasses of wine and child-friendly dishes, as well as high-end seafood, steaks and bottles of wine.

Veranda Fireside Lounge & Restaurant

Rancho Bernardo Inn’s indoor/outdoor Mediterranean-meets-California cafe has all of chef Nicolas Bour’s attention this winter while the Inn’s main dining room, the former El Bizcocho, is transformed into Avant (opening in May). Veranda’s serving a four-course prix-fixe dinner for Valentine’s Day, but the rest of the week, try Bour’s Daily Delights: “Chili and Brew” nights on Mondays; Tuesday taco nights; prime rib on Wednesdays; live music and small bites on Thursdays; and Staccato Suppers, with a three-course prix-fixe menu and live jazz, on Fridays.

Kitchen 1540

Chef Scott Dolbee’s plays with flavor, texture, seasoning and classics, and his winter menu has some old favorites (the In-N-Out-inspired Animal steak dish) and some lively new takes on lamb and game hen. But check out his wintry Wild Boar, prepared with black kale, black mole, white chocolate and chili nut granola. The new L’Happy Hour (4:30-6:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays in the bar) features high-end cocktails hand-mixed tableside with half-priced flatbreads and cheese boards.

tip

of the week

The newly renovated Flower Hill Promenade will celebrate its grand opening Feb. 27- March 3 with live entertainment, food samples and 200 tote bags for the first patrons visiting the plaza each day, starting at noon. 2720 Via De La Valle, Del Mar. (858) 481-2904 or